Talking contactless entry and security post-COVID, with Proxyclick’s Gregory Blondeau

We sit down with Gregory Blondeau, CEO and founder of Proxyclick, to find out more about the company’s new Touchless Check-In solution, as well as why he believes security professionals are now so much more than simply ‘guards and gates’.

James Moore: Hi Gregory, firstly can you tell us a little bit about yourself and Proxyclick?

Gregory Blondeau: Of course. I’m the founder and CEO of Proxyclick, the leading visitor management system for enterprise companies worldwide. Even as a child, I had my own ‘side businesses’ to earn my own spending money, so the entrepreneur in me came out early! Fortunately, this translated well into a career in business development for global companies. Every step in my career path has propelled me to where I am now, and I couldn’t be prouder of my team at Proxyclick. Together, we’ve taken visitor management from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a ‘must-have’ by offering a cloud-based platform built for the needs of the global enterprise.

We help trusted brands across every industry to transform the way they welcome their visitors and contractors. Our clients include L’Oréal, Vodafone, Revolut, PepsiCo, Audi, and other global Fortune 500 companies with both offices and production sites. With more than 30 million visits registered in 10,000 locations around the world, our solution allows organisations to minimise security and compliance risks, while upholding privacy rights.

And, we understand Proxyclick is due to launch a new product into the market in June. What’s it all about?

Yes, it’s our ‘Touchless Check-in’ solution to provide enterprises with a contact-free check-in solution at the front desk for every step of the visitor journey. It’s safe, secure, flexible, and compliant. With millions of employees, visitors, and contractors set to return to corporate premises around the world, our new offering will allow organisations to perform sufficient due diligence to mitigate liability risks. Our mission since the onset of COVID-19 has been to offer companies this level of insight. And limiting surface contact can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Proxyclick has put together COVID support resources, here) and potential future outbreaks in the workplace.

At the same time, we strongly advise customers to continue to adhere to regulations or guidelines put forth by national or regional health authorities. Thankfully, many of the steps built into the new offering are customisable, so users can make changes accordingly.

And what do you feel differentiates this product from others in the market that have recently been launched?

Our key differentiation for the Touchless Check-in comes in its primary benefits:

• Screening: Visitors can be screened according to each company’s health and safety protocol, via Proxyclick’s remote registration portal. Physical check-ins happen with a unique QR code assigned to each visitor once they’ve passed the screening process.
• Security: It’s fully integrated with all Proxyclick security features, including access control integration possibilities with Nedap, Lenel, C-CURE 9000, S2, Genetec, etc.
• Compliance: Data retention periods can be automated for any visitor information collected during the screening process.

In addition, the Touchless Check-in can be implemented quickly with Proxyclick’s user provisioning and single sign-on authentication. This is especially important for global enterprises with large headcounts needing quick and easy onboarding for their employees. Our new contactless check-in solution is a natural extension of our efforts to help companies worldwide provide a safe return to work for their employees. We understand that a safe return to work is a priority, and It starts with implementing the right technology at the front desk.

In a post-COVID world, do you believe that touchless entry will play a more prevalent role in access control for both employees and visitors?

Visibility into who is entering or leaving your premises has become more critical than ever during this global crisis. Companies are realising that understanding who’s potentially come into contact with the virus is the only way to ensure employees that their workplace is safe. That’s why we’re introducing a completely contactless solution, relying heavily on access control, with no physical interaction necessary. That means no touching of equipment or surfaces upon entry or exit of a facility.

As a part of the remote registration process, visitors will receive an email including a customisable risk assessment questionnaire. Organisations will be able to include images and mandatory videos in the screening process. Once visitors have been vetted, they’ll receive unique QR codes via email which allows them access to your building. QR codes can then be scanned from the email itself or added directly into visitors’ mobile wallets. So yes, the worlds of access control and visitor management are coming together in a more meaningful way than ever.

Obviously a big concern for customers will likely be how they protect their visitors’ data when using such solutions. What would be Proxyclick’s response to that?

Absolutely, as a global company with roots in Europe, data privacy is at the core of our offering. Our solution helps organisations mitigate these risks at their entrances by addressing company security, health, and safety in light of visitor privacy. We’re currently the only visitor management solution on the market with ISAE 3000 Type I Privacy Attestation. We predict a second wave of lawsuits for those who sacrifice data privacy compliance (GDPR, PDPA, etc.) for the sake of coronavirus testing. And we’re here to help. We believe that no visitor management product should be designed in a way that sacrifices its visitors’ data.

Over the years, we’ve continued to develop advanced data privacy and security features to meet our customers’ needs and comply with data privacy regulations like GDPR. This includes automated data retention periods for data deletion, full audit trails for reporting, and partial name display capabilities for data protection. But, we also believe that ensuring data privacy shouldn’t just be reflected in a company’s product offerings, but should also be reflected in how the company operates as a whole.

Do you think the role of security teams will change moving forwards? Will they have to think more than ever about biosecurity, for example? And their duty of care?

The days where corporate security teams were relegated to “guards and gates” are over. Security teams are much more evolved now, and more involved in the IT side of facility security. Knowing there will be lawsuits against companies who don’t take adequate care to measure who is onsite at all times, and what their risk level is, now more than ever is the time for security teams to adopt technology that can help. Some businesses are even enlisting other areas of their staffing, to implement teams of “safety ambassadors.” That’s a fantastic way to get everyone involved and keep them accountable.

Organisations don’t have to choose between safety or efficiency. It’s possible to have both. At Proxyclick, we work directly with people who are managing or securing entrances to business sites. And we’re to help and advise those organisations who are ready for their return to work, and eventual recovery phase.

Free Download: The Video Surveillance Report 2023

Discover the latest developments in the rapidly-evolving video surveillance sector by downloading the 2023 Video Surveillance Report. Over 500 responses to our survey, which come from integrators to consultants and heads of security, inform our analysis of the latest trends including AI, the state of the video surveillance market, uptake of the cloud, and the wider economic and geopolitical events impacting the sector!

Download for FREE to discover top industry insight around the latest innovations in video surveillance systems.

Download The Video Surveillance Report